In California alone, 1,244,200 Californians had fully exhausted all of their unemployment benefits as of Monday, according to the state Employment Development Department. And another wave is fast approaching — 222,000 unemployed Californians’ federal extension benefits are set to expire at the end of the year.

And the situation isn’t unique to California.

If Congress and the president fail to renew the extensions, states can no longer pay the federal extension benefits for weeks ending after Dec. 28, even if someone remains unemployed and has a remaining balance on their extension.

“We want to give people enough time so they can do some planning,” EDD spokeswoman Patti Roberts said last month. “We know that this can be a lifeline for some people, and that it really has an impact on people’s housing, food and all the other essentials of everyday life.”

Roberts stressed that the EDD is not controlling the situation.

“This is not our decision,” she said. “It’s a decision that comes from the federal government. It has happened the last couple of years and they usually reverse it at the end of the year … but we can never anticipate that it will happen that way.”

President Barack Obama has called on Congress to extend benefits for long-term unemployed Americans before they expire at the end of the year. In his weekly radio address on Saturday, Obama said more than 1 million Americans will lose benefits if lawmakers fail to act.

Vincent Bussey is part of that next wave — and he can already feel it crashing.

“I’ve done as much as I can do,” the 57-year-old California resident said. “I may have to start sleeping in my car and going to food pantries. I’ve been out of work for a year, and I haven’t had time for any kind of new training because I kept thinking that I would find a job any day.”

Bussey was doing mortgage modifications at Bank of America in Glendale, Calif., when he was laid off a year ago. The branch closed when new landlord hiked the building’s rent.

“I was interviewing with another organization within 30 days of being laid off and things were looking pretty good … but nothing has occurred,” he said.

At the peak of the recession, the federal government provided up to 73 weeks of extended unemployment benefits in addition to the regular 26 weeks of state unemployment benefits. But now many are at the end of their tether.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted that allowing benefits to expire would be a drag on the nation’s economic growth next year. A report by the Department of Labor and the president’s Council of Economic Advisers estimates it could cost businesses 240,000 jobs.

A newly released study by the LMA Consulting Group and the Inland Empire chapter of the Association for Operations Management reveals that 77 percent of manufacturers and distributors are facing challenges finding skilled workers for new positions and to replace workers who have left.

“Even though unemployment remains higher than pre-recession levels, manufacturers and distributors cannot find the talent required to support their business,” LMA President Lisa Anderson said in a statement. “To add fuel to the fire, as supply chains have become more complex in recent years, a higher level of skills and talent is required for success, leaving a skills gap.”